Glendale, OH Free Speech

In July 2003, the City of Glendale, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati, threatened Chris Pagan with a hefty fine and even jail time because he put a “for sale” sign in the window of his car. Glendale bans the words “for sale” from parked cars because it thinks people will walk into traffic and get run over while looking at them.

Ordinarily, such paternalism is not a justification for banning speech, but the City claims Chris’ “for sale” sign is “commercial speech”—which receives less protection under the First Amendment than political speech or artistic expression.

Chris decided to stand up for his First Amendment rights and filed a federal lawsuit challenging Glendale’s ban. Unfortunately, both the federal district court and a three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Glendale, citing the lesser protection afforded so-called commercial speech.

The Institute for Justice believes that all speech is vital to a free society and deserves the full and equal protection of the First Amendment. For the First Amendment to mean anything, it must mean that government cannot censor ordinary speech for our own good, even if that speech is “commercial. So IJ took up Chris’ cause and convinced the full 6th Circuit to review the case.